


Big Decisions

by 18lzytwner



Series: LazyTown Second Series [6]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-29
Updated: 2007-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-28 13:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 13,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15708327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Stephanie has some big decisions to make. Will she make the right ones or will Robbie force her to make ones she doesn't like?Again the age difference is not substantial.





	1. Chapter 1

**_Six months after Trouble With a Capital R?_ **

          Stephanie sat in the bright sunlight out on the backyard swing.  The breeze blew lightly around her hair and fluffed it into her face.  She gently pulled it back behind her ears and watched the clouds pass by in the sky.

          “What are you thinking about?”  An all too familiar accented voice wondered.  The now twenty year old looked down to see her favorite person in the world standing there.

          “School.”  She said in one word.

          “I heard from a little birdie that someone is getting her Associate’s degree in history.”  Sportacus smiled.

          “This is true.”  The girl answered. 

“One would think you’d be a little more excited.”  He said.

“I am excited but I still have two more years of schooling left to go for my Bachelor’s Degree and so far all the universities I’ve applied to have accepted me.”  Stephanie told him.

“And that’s bad because…” Sportacus was a little confused.

“It’s bad because all of the schools are far away and I’m not talking half an hour or even forty-five minutes.  More like three or four hours away.”  She sighed.  Now it was coming together.

“You don’t want to leave LazyTown do you?”  The above average hero asked.

“No, I don’t.”  Stephanie admitted.  Sportacus sat down and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Steph, you need to finish school.  It’s so important.”  He said.

“Important enough to leave and Uncle Milford and all my friends?”  She asked.

“We all support you and want you to do what you need to succeed.  We would never ask you to lose your dreams for us.”  Sportacus told her.

“My dream is to be with you, here in LazyTown.  I’m not sure I’m strong enough to leave.”  Stephanie let out a big sigh and looked toward the ground.  The above average hero took her chin in his hand and lifted her face so she had to look into his Icelandic baby blues. 

“You’ve been through a lot but you’ve managed to come out on top every time.  I’ve seen you grow up into a beautiful, smart, talented woman.  I know you can handle this.”  He tried to reassure her.  Looking into his eyes and seeing the love he had for her made the pink-haired girl smile.

“You really think I can do it?”  Stephanie asked.

“I **_know_** you can do it.  Now come on, let’s get up and doing something.”  He smiled.

“All right.  Let’s go.”  She said.  The two stood up from the swing and headed over to the sports field where they could hear the familiar laughter of their friends.

Robbie watched from below the Earth’s surface through his periscope.  He practically gagged as he saw what was going on.

“Those two make me want to hurl.”  The villain said as he turned away from the scope.  He began to pace back and forth wondering what he could possibly do to cause trouble for the couple. 

“Think, think, think.”  He said to no one in particular.  What could he do to get those two in trouble?  That’s when he had an idea.

“Oh that is good.”  The villain said to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Robbie strode over to a shelf full of books.  The amount of dust collecting on them indicated that he hadn’t picked them up in a good long while.

          “Now where is that book?”  He asked the walls as he read through the titles.  The first one he came to said ‘Diary of a lazy man’.

          “Too short.”  He said and moved to the next which said ‘Weather Machines for Dummies.’

          “Too been there done that.”  The villain moved to the third one which was entitled ‘Evil for Dummies.’

          “Too long.”  Robbie shook off the fact that his rhyming scheme was a little rusty and passed to the fourth book and smiled at the title.  ‘Potions and Notions for Evil Geniuses’. 

          “Perfect!”  He grabbed the book and pulled it over to a nearby table.  The cobwebs and nasty spiders took a few minutes to get rid of but soon he had the book open and was reading the index searching for the potion he was looking for.

          “S, Sa, Se, Si, Sin, Sing…” he trailed off as he carefully read each listing until finding the one he wanted.

          “Singing Potion, page forty-seven.”  Robbie smirked and flipped to the correct page.  Dust billowed from the flipping causing him to sneeze. 

          “Ewww.”  He said as he wiped the nasal slime away with the back of his hand and turned his attention to the potion description.

          “Causes victim to sing whenever they open their mouths.  One serving of two tablespoons usually lasts two days.  In larger quantities expect longer effects, however an overdose can cause permanent singing.  Side effects may include:  itchy, watery eyes, dry mouth, nausea, and in severe cases diarrhea.”  Robbie read aloud.  An evil smile crossed his face.

          “Than an overdose is what he will get.”  Quickly LazyTown’s resident villain began collecting the supplies he needed.

          Meanwhile on the surface, six friends were playing a rousing game of TV tag.  Despite it’s name it was a good way to exercise and they made it trickier by only being able to call out a TV show that no one else had named yet.  Stephanie was it and had yet to catch anyone.  Pixel kept calling out names of shows that no one had ever heard of but they figured they were probably from the science fiction channel.  Ziggy’s interests had left him thousands of cartoon shows and it appeared he would be tough to beat.  Stingy kept naming shows on the news channels that dealt with money, no surprise there, and Trixie was naming off crime dramas.  Sportacus had been getting pointers from Ziggy as to what shows he should say since he didn’t really watch TV.  Stephanie had managed to get him to watch a couple but those had soon run out and now he was an easy target, this is if she could catch him.  The group was running around enjoying their wonderful Saturday together when Trixie called time out.

          “What’s up?”  Stephanie asked.

          “I have to go to work in an hour.  I have to go home and change.”  Her friend said. 

          “Oh I forgot, sorry.  Well see you when you get out?”  The pink haired girl asked.

          “Maybe, it depends on how things go.  Lately he’s been asking me to stay late because the guy who is supposed to be working the closing shift has been calling off.”  Trixie explained. 

          “Bummer.”  Pixel piped in.

          “That’s what happens when you work fast food.  I just hope that after college I don’t get stuck there.”  She shook her head and then said good-bye to her friends.  

          “Well what do we want to do now?  Continue where we left off or do something else?”  Stephanie asked.

          “Can we maybe get together later?  I have to run my weekly virus scans and see if I have any calls from the big five.”  Pixel told them.

          “Big five?”  Ziggy asked.

          “Yeah, my major customers, you know.  Hard to run a twenty four-seven tech support if I don’t check my messages.”  Pixel explained as he said good-bye leaving Ziggy, Stingy, Stephanie and Sportacus behind.

          “Ok I guess it’s just us.”  The hopeful girl said.  That’s when Sportacus’ crystal sounded.

          “Sorry.  I’ll see you later.”  The above average hero took off leaving the three behind.

          “Well now what?”  Ziggy asked.

          “I don’t know, any ideas?”  Stephanie wondered.

          “Why don’t we count money?  Oh which reminds me, I have that assignment on compounding interest to do.”  With that Stingy left leaving only two. 

          “Oh geez, I forgot about my homework too.  I have to get my drawing done for Monday and all I have done is the rough sketch.  I’ll see you later Steph.”  Ziggy took off for his house, where is art project was waiting for him.  Stephanie let out a big sigh and slowly headed to an open park bench.  She had finished her homework last night and this was her weekend off from the dance studio. 

          “This sucks.”  She mumbled to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day dawned bright as usual and Stephanie hoped today would be better than yesterday.  Sportacus had returned after saving a cat up a tree.  They had spent the rest of the day together and they had enjoyed dinner with Uncle Milford.

          The phone rang down the hall and she heard her uncle pick it up.  The twenty year old got out of bed and picked out an outfit for the day while her uncle continued the conversation.  She began humming to herself as she moved her clothes from the closet and dresser to her arms and then the bathroom.  She was about to jump into the shower when Uncle Milford came down the hall.

          “What’s going on?”  Stephanie asked.

          “I have to go into the office today for a little while.”  He sounded bummed, which was a state that he usually never was in.

          “On a Sunday?”  The twenty year old asked.

          “Yes unfortunately.  Can I use the shower first?”  He wondered.

          “Of course.”  She smiled and pulled her clothes out of his way.  The morning wasn’t starting out like she had wanted it but what was she going to do.  Uncle Milford was the Mayor of course and the town had to come first.  She had grown up knowing that and things had changed over all these years.

          Later after her uncle had left she was enjoying a bowl of cereal when the blue above average hero arrived.  He knocked on the door as always and Stephanie happily got up to answer it.

          “Morning beautiful.”  Sportacus smiled.

          “Good morning to you.”  She smiled back and let him in.  Once inside the two kissed.

          “So what are you up to this morning?”  He asked when they had parted.

          “Well Uncle Milford went to Town Hall and I was just finishing off breakfast.”  Stephanie told him.

          “Great then you wouldn’t be interested in a little three on three soccer huh?”  He teased. 

          “Oh no, I wouldn’t.  Just let me grab my ball and gloves.”  The twenty year old put her bowl into the sink and went down the hall.  Her goalie gloves and ball were quickly retrieved from the closet and she was back down in the kitchen within a minute.

          “That was fast.”  Sportacus said, a little surprised.

          “I learned from a very good teacher.”  Stephanie teased.  This made Sportacus lean down and take her lips in his.

          “Mmmm, we’d better go before we get side tracked.”  The twenty year old said as they separated. 

          “Maybe I don’t want to.”  Sportacus snickered.  Stephanie swatted him on the bottom and the two headed out the door and down to the sports field.

          Meanwhile, Robbie watched through his periscope.  The concoction he had been brewing was ready and now was the perfect time to test it.  Sportakook would keep everyone busy and no one would notice him slipping the liquid into the sports elf’s water. 

          “I hope this works.”  The resident villain muttered to himself as he prepared to go topside.  Once he had everything, Robbie climbed the tunnel and was outside in a few minutes.  He then worked his way over to the sports field and snuck over to the water bottles.

          “He’ll be singing like a canary in no time.”  Robbie chuckled.  Once his task was done, the villain snuck back to his lair to watch the circus unfold above.

          “I’d better make popcorn.”  Robbie laughed as he returned home.     


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song included is Waiting for You by Seal

About thirty minutes passed before Trixie begged for a water break.  Everyone agreed that they were in need of some refreshment and water sounded like a great idea.  Heading over to the bottles, Stephanie scooped them up off the bench.  Then she returned to her friends and handed out the plastic containers matching the names on the bottles to the person they belonged to.

          “Here’s yours Sportacus.”  She smiled handing him his white bottle with the big blue number ten on it.

          “Thanks Stephanie.”  The above average hero smiled and chugged the whole bottle down within a minute.

          “Weren’t you ever taught to not chug your drinks?”  Trixie teased.

          “At least I didn’t spill it all over myself.”  Sportacus teased right back.  Suddenly he had this strange feeling in his stomach.  He had this sudden urge to do something but he wasn’t sure why.  The above average hero tried to suppress the compulsion but he couldn’t.

          “Everyday, a shade of blue…” he grabbed his vest to emphasis blue.

“You won’t believe

What I’m going through

It just feels like I can’t afford to let myself go

No, oohooo no…” the above average hero started dancing around.

“Everyone is just the same,

They touch me,

But I can't say,

There has been no one brighter than you,” Sportacus pointed at Stephanie.

“I can't deny these things that I do

Feels like the world's at stake 'cause

I have been waiting

I have been waiting for you.”  Again the above average hero pointed to the pink-haired girl. 

“Heavenly, that's what you are

You're burnin' me like a shining star

How am I supposed to be that king without you

Ooohooo...it's true yea. 

Everyone is just the same

They love me

But I can't say

There has been no one brighter than you

I can't deny these things that I do

Feels like the world's at stake yeaaahh...

I have been waiting

I have been waiting for you

Heeeeeeeey yeaaaah

There has been no one brighter than you

I can't deny these things that I do

Feels like the world's at stake 'cause

I have been waiting

I have been waiting for you

I have seen no light brighter than you

And I can't deny these things that I do

Feels like the world's at stake yeeaah yeah

I have been waiting

I have been waiting for you

Eeeeehhyea...for you

Ba ba ba ba ba oowwwYeeeah yea yeah

Everyday I sit down and I feel like I'm waiting

For you

I've been waiting for you

For youI have been waiting

I have been waiting for you.”  The song and dance number finished leaving the kids staring at Sportacus and Stephanie was blushing.  Sure everyone had suspected something was going on between their friends but the sudden outburst really had everyone shocked.  No one knew what to say until Trixie broke the silence.

“What the hell just happened?”  She asked.

“I have no idea.”  Pixel replied.  Sportacus went to open his mouth but then realized he felt another song coming on and stopped himself.  He gestured to the kids that he needed something to write with.  No one had anything so the above average hero decided to play charades.  He motioned to them by putting his finger up to indicate what word it was and placed the single finger on his arm.

“First word, one syllable.”  Ziggy piped up.  Sportacus nodded and pointed to his eye.

“I!”  Pixel exclaimed.  The above average hero put his finger on his nose and moved to the next word, signifying that it contained one syllable.         

“Second word, one syllable.”  Ziggy was enjoying this.         

“Thank you Captain Obvious.”  Trixie muttered.   Sportacus made a motion to show he was holding something and placing it near his mouth.         

“Drink!”  Stingy shouted out.  Sportacus indicated he was close.         

“Drank!”  Pixel called out.  Again the above average hero put his finger on his nose and moved to the next word.  For the third time it was a one-syllable word as he pointed to himself.         

“Mine!”  Stingy smiled proudly.  Sportacus shook his head and Pixel responded,         

“My!” Moving to the fourth word, which was one-syllable.         

“I’m beginning to see a pattern here.”  Trixie smirked.  Sportacus made a wave motion with his hand, indicating not a ‘hello’ wave but an ocean wave.         

“Water!”  This time Stingy got it right the first time.  The blue elf nodded and moved to the next word.  For the fifth time it contained one syllable.  He pointed to his hand and the kids got confused.         

“I drank my water hand…” Pixel didn’t get to finish as Trixie realized what Sportacus meant.         

“And!”  She shouted.  Again the finger went to the nose and this time he indicated that the next word was two syllables.         

“Oh brother.  It took us this long to get the first five words.”  Trixie shook her head.  The above average hero put up his right index finger and moved it forward slightly.  Then he put up his left index finger and made the same motion.  Afterwards he pulled them together, the used his right hand to signify ‘two’.         

“One and one make two?”  Ziggy wondered.  This one had them stumped until Pixel realized what was going on.         

“Sum!”  Sportacus nodded and moved the next syllable.  He began pointing at the benches, the trees, the grass, and the ball, anything to have them get the gist.         

“None of those things make sense.”  Stingy commented.  Sportacus’ eyes lit up and this got the kids’ attention.         

“Something Stingy said was the clue.”  Pixel said.  This made the above average hero jump.  He signaled a one and the Trixie understood.         

“The first word, ‘something’!”  She shouted.           

“I drank my water and something…” The kids puzzled over it for a few minutes.  Sportacus was tried to think of how to get the next word across when Pixel spoke up.         

“Something in the water made you do it!” the idea had occurred to him.  The above average hero heaved a big sigh and nodded.         

“But none of us are having a problem.”  Ziggy stated.  No one knew what was going on or why Sportacus was behaving strangely.         

Meanwhile, Robbie was laughing so hard his sides were about to split.  The blue sports elf had followed his plan and the events afterward were absolutely classic.  Popcorn lay all over the floor from when the kids were playing charades and the looks on their faces when he stopped his singing and dancing.  This was going to be one hoot of a prank.           

“Well I guess it’s time for Part B.”  He smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

The group headed back to the Mayor’s house before anyone else could see what Sportacus was doing.  They needed somewhere to think and since the Mayor wasn’t home, they wouldn’t be disturbed.  Stephanie remained quiet the entire walk back to the house.  In fact she distanced herself from the above average hero as much as she could.  Trixie hung back and tried to get her friend to talk but she refused.  Sportacus kept turning around but the girl wouldn’t even look at him.  He let out a big sigh and wished he could explain what happened.  The group arrived at their destination and Stephanie unlocked the door.  Everyone went inside except for Pixel who said he’d be right back with his scanner. 

          Ziggy and Stingy had Sportacus go into the living room while Trixie kept Stephanie in the kitchen.  The prankster had had enough of this silent act and wanted answers.

          “Stephanie you have to tell me what’s going on.  You can’t bottle this up.  We’ve been friends for too long.”  The pig tailed girl said.  Her friend shook her head and that’s when Trixie grabbed her shoulders.

          “Out with it woman!”  Not known for her patience, Trixie cut to the quick.  Stephanie’s eyes went wide and she finally answered.

          “This wasn’t the way this was supposed to happen.” 

          “No, I imagine telling everyone that you’re in a relationship with Sportacus wasn’t supposed to be sung like that but I like Seal and Sporty did a good job.”  Trixie tried to lighten the mood. 

          “Yes he did.”  Stephanie smiled.  “We had discussed telling everyone after graduation.”

          “Well it’s out in the open and to be perfectly honest it was LazyTown’s worst kept secret.  I think everyone already had an idea that something was going on between you two.  Personally I think it’s cute.  You two are best friends and who better to spend your time with than the town’s hero?”  Trixie gave her a nudge.

          “You’re right.”  The pink-haired girl said.

          “When am I not right?”  Her friend teased.  “Now come on.  Your man needs help.”  The two smiled and headed into the living room.  Sportacus’ face lit up as he saw her enter the room.  Stephanie immediately crossed over to the sofa he sat on and plopped herself down next to him.  She leaned over and whispered into his ear,

          “We’ll talk later.”  He nodded and gave her a smile.

          “All right, I’m back.  Now let’s get this thing going.”  Pixel said as he entered the room.  Sportacus nodded but then he suddenly felt a rumble in his lower intestine.  In the blink of an eye he was out of the room and the group heard the bathroom door slam.

          “That can’t be good.”  Ziggy said.  Stephanie got up off the couch and went down the hall while the rest of the kids looked at each other and tried to not imagine what was going on in the bathroom.

          Meanwhile, Robbie pulled out a new contraption he’d been working on.  He chuckled to himself as he began to put the finishing touches on it.  It was a big machine that he hoped to use to trick his enemies. 

          “So my little Decision Maker.  We are ready.  Now all I have to do is get Pinky.  When I tell her I can cure her blue sports elf, she’ll do whatever, I tell her.”  The villain headed over to a table that held a pen and paper.

          “Now for the note.”  Robbie scrawled a note onto the paper and then slid it in an envelope. 

          “Disguise time!!”  He shouted to no one in particular.  When he got to the tubes he quickly chose the mailman costume. 

          “I look good.”  Robbie laughed, as he looked himself over.  “All that remains now is to get the real mailman.”  He grabbed his letter and headed for the tube.

          Once topside, he scanned the LazyTown landscape and saw the mailman, Steve, heading for the nearby mailbox.  Quickly, he went over there.

          “Morning.”  He said.

          “Morning to you.  Are you new?”  Steve asked.

          “In a manner of speaking.”  Robbie smirked and pulled out a mallet he kept in his bag.  He conked the Federal worker on the head and stuffed him into the mailbox. 

          “That ought to keep him out of the way.  Now to deliver my mail.”  Robbie smirked.    


	6. Chapter 6

Pixel was busying running a body scan of Sportacus while he still could, considering the above average hero had spent the past thirty minutes in and out of the bathroom.  The blue sports elf was pale and feeling weak.  He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. 

          Stephanie hung nearby hoping that she was hiding her concern.  The fact of the matter was she could talk to him but every time he tried to open his mouth a song started.  The sound of the front door opened brought everyone’s attention to the kitchen.

          “Stephanie, I’m home!”  It was the Mayor.

          “In the living room Uncle!”  The twenty year old called back.  Milford walked into the other room holding a pile of letters.

          “It seems the post office is still running behind.  This is the third Sunday in a row we got mail instead of on Saturday.”  He said not looking up as he sifted through the envelopes. 

          “We have a bigger problem than the mail.”  Trixie spoke up.  It was then that the Mayor looked around and saw the kids there with Sportacus looking incredibly sick.

          “What’s going on?”  He asked.

          “We’re trying to find out.  Sportacus can’t seem to open his mouth without singing.”  Pixel said without looking up from the scanner in his hands.  The above average hero went to stand up and practically fell back over.  Constantly running back and forth to the bathroom was taking everything out of him.

          “Ziggy, help me.”  Stephanie grabbed his left arm and Ziggy grabbed the right and the two got Sportacus to the bathroom.

          “We called Dr. Melior, he said he’d be right over.”  Stingy told the Mayor.  Milford nodded and looked at the strange envelope that was in with the other letters.

          “It seems that someone wanted to get our attention.”  He said pulling the envelope out of the stack.  Trixie came over and took a look at it.  The purple envelope with block lettering did not have a return address or even a stamp just the words “To the pink haired one”.

          “This is weird.  They obviously want Stephanie to have it but I’m not sure it’s safe.”  The prankster said.

          “My scanner is running the diagnostic on Sportacus so it can’t scan the letter unless it stops the process.”  Pixel informed them.

          “Well maybe you’d better.  If this is from the guy who made Sportacus this way, it could be dangerous.”  Milford was starting to get nervous.  The Gizmo Guy nodded and did what he was told. 

          “Well there doesn’t appear to be anything in the envelope except a piece of paper.  I would open it.”  Pixel said about a minute later.  It was then that Ziggy walked back into the kitchen.

          “He really isn’t doing well.  Stephanie is trying to make him comfortable in the bathroom so he doesn’t have to move much.”  The sugar enthusiast sighed.  A knock on the door stopped anyone from commenting further.  Milford opened the door and admitted the doctor. 

          “He’s down in the bathroom.”  The Mayor said without the health professional even saying a word.

          “All right.  I suggest you stay here in case what he has is contagious.  You’ve all been exposed and I don’t want an epidemic on our hands.”  Dr. Melior told them.  They all nodded and watched the doctor go down the hall.

           “Let’s open that letter.”  Trixie said.

          “Normally, I’d object but under the circumstances, open it.”  Milford said.  Trixie stuck her finger into the top part of the envelope and ripped it open.  She then pulled the white piece of paper out and read it aloud.

          “I know how to cure the hero.  Come to the play ground after sunset if you wish to speak.”  Trixie shrugged and said,

          “It seems innocent enough although I’m not sure if Stephanie will want to leave Sportacus in his condition.”

          “Well if I know her she’ll do anything to help Sportacus and if it means leaving him, she’ll do it.”  Milford told them.

          “But she won’t be thinking straight, I’m not sure that this couldn’t lead to a trap.”  Pixel was very concerned.  He had always had a crush on Stephanie and knowing that she was with Sportacus hurt but he still would never want anything bad to happen to her.

          “I agree, I think it could be a trap.  We should call Chief Dooright.”  The Mayor said.

          “But what if it isn’t a trap?  Do we run the risk of messing up the only chance to help Sportacus?”  Stingy asked.  The last question hung in the air for a few moments.

          “Wait a minute, I have an idea.”  Trixie smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Partial song Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

Stephanie helped Sportacus from the bathroom, across the hall into her room.  It was closer to the facilities should he need to use them again but luckily he hadn’t been having a problem for the last hour.  Whatever Dr. Melior had given him seemed to be working and luckily the sickness wasn’t contagious but it hadn’t been able to identify it.  The pink haired girl looked at the man before her as she helped him lie on her bed and practically didn’t recognize him.  He was pale and could barely move without a wince of pain in his handsome face.  She could tell he was trying to hide how he felt to let her see that he was fine but it really wasn’t working.  Stephanie hoped that whatever was wreaking havoc in his body would soon pass and he could work his way back to normal.  The above average hero opened his mouth to say something but instead another song started.  He quickly shut his mouth and cursed inwardly that he could not try to comfort her.  The twenty year old sighed and lie down next to him, wrapping her arms around his broad chest and listening to his heartbeat.

          Out in the kitchen, Pixel was communicating with Trixie via the ear bud she was wearing.  The Gizmo Guy had been under a government contract a few years ago and he decided to make his own type of the communication device; so far it was working perfectly.

          “We were lucky that the costume store was still open.”  The prankster said.

          “This is true but as soon as our note writer shows up he is going to realize that you aren’t her.”  Pixel told her.

          “That maybe but we’ll find out who is behind this and you can call the cops.”  Trixie retorted.  Pixel just shook his head and was about to say something when her voice came back over the line. 

          “Someone’s coming.”  She said.

          “All right this is it.”  The twenty-one year old told her.  Trixie nodded despite the fact that Pixel couldn’t see her and she played with the pink wig that sat atop her head.  The figure approached through the darkness and stopped at the slide not far from where she was standing but far enough that she couldn’t see his face.

          “So you have come to save your beloved.  How cute.”  The words came from the shady character.  Trixie didn’t recognize the voice and wondered who it was.

          “Yes, now how can you help me?”  Trixie wondered doing her best Stephanie impression hoping it would work.  From the figure’s reaction she knew that something wasn’t right.

          “Well you aren’t the one I want but you’ll do.”  He said.  The next thing Trixie knew smoke filled the area and she began to choke.  She could hear Pixel’s voice in her ear but she couldn’t respond as the world around her went black.

          Back inside the Mayor’s house, Stephanie was listening to Sportacus whisper the words of one of her favorite songs.

          “We’ll do it all

          Everything

          One our own

          We don’t need

          Anything

          Or anyone

          If I lay here

          If I just lay here

          Would you lie with me and just forget the world?”  The last line hung in the air as his crystal sounded.  Sportacus tried to stand up but Stephanie wouldn’t let him.

          “Oh no you don’t.  I’ll handle this.”  The twenty year old took his crystal from him and looked into it.  Her eyes went wide and she murmured one word,

          “Trixie.”       


	8. Chapter 8

Stephanie raced out into the kitchen to find her uncle on the phone with Chief Dooright and Pixel and Ziggy trying to hold Stingy back from something.  She was going ask what was going on but decided better of it.  If Trixie needed her help then she needed to go.  The twenty year old rushed out the door and headed for the playground.

          It didn’t take long for her to reach the park and she quickly found the pink wig her friend had been wearing.  The look on her face wasn’t a happy one.  Quickly she walked around the equipment trying to find anything that would give her any ideas about what had occurred there only minutes before, being careful not to disturb any of the evidence.  Footprints scattered the ground along with what appeared to be drag marks.  Unfortunately the pebbles that were part of the playground’s play surface made it impossible to tell the size of the foot that made the prints and the darkness hid any prints made in the grass once the crook was outside the playground.  Still she had a general direction and that was better than nothing so she headed off the in the direction of the drag marks.

          Back at the Mayor’s house, Chief Dooright had arrived with a couple of deputies and they listened to the whole story.

          “You should have called me, Mr. Mayor.”  Dooright did his best to not sound annoyed with his friend.

          “I realize that now but how can we get Trixie back?”  Milford asked.

          “I’ll radio Will Porter and have him get over to the playground to examine the scene.  Meanwhile, I want every cop on the force called in and search parties started.  I don’t care if they’re on vacation or just off duty, get them in here.”  Bradley had laid down his orders and quickly the two deputies radioed the station. 

          “Now I’ll head over to Trixie’s mom’s place and explain to her the situation, in case we get any ransom calls.”  The Police Chief said.  He gave a heavy sigh and walked out the front door. 

          “We’d better tell Stephanie.”  Ziggy told them.

          “I’m sure she already knows with all this commotion and I bet Sportacus’ crystal has already sounded.”  Mayor Meanswell said as he walked down the hall.  He knocked on the bedroom door before entering only to find the bed empty.  Quickly he rushed across the hall to the bathroom and it too was empty.  Ducking back into Stephanie’s bedroom, to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him and all he found was an empty bed and an open window.

          Meanwhile in Robbie’s lair, the villain stuffed an unconscious Trixie into a glass compartment.  He shut the door, knowing that he needed to hide his prisoner should the police come bursting in.  As quick as he could, Robbie pressed a series of buttons on his keyboard and the compartment sank into the floor as it’s life support system kicked on.  It wasn’t a moment too soon as he could hear the lid to his tube being flung open.  Now was the time to play it incredibly cool as he took a seat in his big orange fuzzy chair and turned on the boob tube. 

          “Robbie, we know you have her.  Give her up!”  The captain of the SWAT Team shouted.

          “What are you talking about?”  The villain played coy as he stood up.

          “You took Trixie!”  Again the captain responded in an incredibly loud voice.

          “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.  I’ve been watching TV the whole time.  You can’t keep harassing me like this.”  Robbie told him.

          “You’re a convicted felon, I can do whatever I want to you.  Talk to your parole officer.”  The captain said as he hauled the ex-con to him.

          “We’re going for a little ride.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Partial song Heroes by David Bowie

Robbie was forced into the back of the police car and then driven to police headquarters.  Stephanie watched from a distance and wondered if the villain was really behind this.  He’d been quiet since he was released from prison and he’d been working at the homeless shelter as he’d been told.  Sportacus had always said that she should try to let Robbie redeem himself and so far it seemed as though he was right.  Still a part of the twenty year old didn’t want to believe that the villain had changed his ways.  She snuck to the tube opening and jumped down inside.

          The lights had been left on and so had the television.  It was obvious that the police had interrupted the ex-con and hauled him off for questioning.  Still nothing seemed out of place.  Stephanie stomped her foot on the floor, a little frustrated that her first hunch appeared to be wrong.  Little did she know how right she was.

          Beneath the pink-haired girl’s feet, Trixie woke to a loud sound.  Her head hurt as it tried to clear the fog that had settled over it.

          “Where am I?”  She wondered aloud as she stood up.  Of course she wasn’t going to get any answer but the thought didn’t want to seem to stay in her head.  Above again she heard footsteps and then silence.  Whoever was above her was now gone.

          “Hey!  I’m down here!”  Trixie shouted, her voice bouncing off every surface in the strange Plexiglas container.  After a few minutes of no response, she slumped back down into the corner of the box.  She had to figure her way out of here and she had to figure out who was behind her capture. 

          “Well since I’m stuck down here, I at least have some time to think.”  She said to herself as she pulled her knees to her chest.

          Outside of Robbie’s lair, Stephanie stood deep in thought.  What was Trixie doing out at the playground?  Why had she had a pink wig on?  What were her friends and uncle doing back home?  All these questions had no answers at the moment and her best bet was to go home and start with her uncle.  That man couldn’t keep a secret.  In fact the only reason he hadn’t spilled about her and Sportacus was because Bessie had threatened him when he blabbed it to her.

          As she headed back toward her uncle’s house she saw an all to familiar face heading her way.  She quickly rushed over to the above average hero.

          “What are you doing out of bed?  You are way too sick.”  Stephanie told him.  He opened his mouth and a few lines came out of his mouth,

“We can be Heroes, just for one day

We can be us, just for one day

…  We can be Heroes

Just for one day…” Stephanie shook her head and closed his mouth with her hand.  He smiled slightly and she said,

“I’m playing hero right now.  You should be in bed.”  Sportacus just shook his head as the twenty year old pulled his right arm around her shoulders and helped him back to the Mayor’s house.

Once they arrived, the first thing that was accomplished was to put the blue sports elf back in bed and then the next thing was for Stephanie to turn to her uncle.

“What is going on?  Why was Trixie out there?  Why was she wearing a pink wig?”  The Mayor only stopped the bombardment of questions as he shifted the blame to Pixel.

“It was their idea.”  He said pointing to the Gizmo Guy.  Stephanie rounded on the boy.

“What?” 

“Trixie said that you weren’t thinking straight.  She said that if you went out there you’d get hurt.  She wasn’t going to let that happen to you.”  Pixel tried to explain. 

“Start from the beginning.”  The pink-haired girl demanded.  Slowly but surely the whole story came out.

About half an hour later, Robbie found himself back at home.  The police had no grounds to keep him despite his weak alibi.  The villain rubbed his hands together and tried to figure out what to do next as his plans had been thrown a slight monkey wrench.  Trixie had no idea who had captured her and he had to make sure that he kept it that way until he could get his hands on Stephanie. 

“I have to force her to have to chose between her friend and her boyfriend, but how?”  The villain began to pace.

“Maybe this worked out for the best.  I have Trixie trapped inside the Decision Maker and all I have to do now is figure out how I can get Sportakook into a serious situation.  Think, think, think.”  Robbie’s pacing increased and he was soon going fast enough to wear a rut into the floor.  That was until an evil laugh passed through his lips.

“Oh Robbie, you’ve done it again.”  He said to himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is Everything I Do by Bryan Adams

Stephanie paced the floor in the living room trying to sort out everything she had heard and everything she had seen in the past hour and a half.  Trixie was in trouble, everyone was out looking for her, but there still had been no word from the police.  She herself had checked the obvious places but when she came up empty handed she was distraught.  What made her even more upset was the fact that her Uncle had told her to stay with Sportacus while he helped in the search with her friends.  The twenty year old was so focused she didn’t notice the fact that someone had walked into the room.  It wasn’t until a hand on her shoulder made her stop pacing.  Turning she saw Sportacus there.  He looked stronger and his color was a little more normal.  She threw her arms around him and he returned the gesture. 

          “You look a lot better.”  She said as they separated.  He smiled and nodded as he grabbed an apple off the counter.

          “You have your appetite back as well, that’s great.”  Stephanie couldn’t help but smile.  Sportacus swallowed some apple and tried to speak but instead a song came out.

“Look into my eyes - you will see  
What you mean to me  
Search your heart - search your soul  
And when you find me there you'll search no more  
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you  
  
Look into my heart - you will find  
There's nothin' there to hide  
Take me as I am - take my life  
I would give it all I would sacrifice  
Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for  
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more  
Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you  
  
There's no love - like your love  
And no other - could give more love  
There's nowhere - unless you're there  
All the time - all the way  
  
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more  
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you - Ya I'd die for you  
  
Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you” 

The above average hero finished the song and tears welled up in Stephanie’s eyes.  She wished so much for everything to be back to normal.  Tomorrow she had classes but she didn’t think she could do it with Trixie missing and Sportacus sick.  The above average hero took her in his arms again and tried to calm her.  The situation wasn’t good but it would get better, he had a good feeling about it.  Just then a knock on the door made them let go of each other and answer it.

“Can I help you?”  Stephanie asked at the strange man at the door.

“I’m Doctor Flufenstein.  Doctor Melior sent me to look at a Sportakook.”  The man said in a funny accent.

“You mean Sportacus, and he’s right here.”  The pink-haired girl raised one eyebrow and let him in.

“Ah yes, of course.  Now I understand you’ve been singing?”  The doctor asked.  Sportacus nodded and let the man take a look at him.  Flufenstein opened the above average hero’s mouth and looked inside using a tongue depressor. 

“Uh huh.  Just as I suspected, Singingititus.”  He said.

“What?”  Stephanie looked skeptical and watched, as Sportacus seemed to be looking a little funny. 

“Singingititus, it is very serious.  If I don’t get him back to the lab soon, he’ll continue singing for the rest of his life.”  Flufenstein told them as he filled a needle with some sort of liquid.

“Well then let’s go.  What’s the needle for?”  Stephanie asked.

“You.”  The fake doctor said as he plunged the needle into her arm.  Sportacus tried to stop him but there was something wrong and he couldn’t instead he fell backward onto the floor.  Stephanie tried to fight back but whatever was in the needle was too powerful and she slumped to the floor unconscious.  Robbie laughed and left a little note near the pink-haired girl as he flung Sportacus over his shoulder and made his way to the nearest mailbox.


	11. Chapter 11

Stephanie awoke to find the faces of her friends and her uncle in her face.  She blinked rapidly trying to clear the fuzzy images from her mind.

          “She’s awake!”  Ziggy shouted.

          “Thanks, Ziggy, I didn’t need that eardrum anyway.”  Pixel said sarcastically.

          “Where is Sportacus?”  The pink-haired girl sat bolt upright as her mind cleared

          “We don’t know.  We were hoping you would.”  Milford told her.  His niece reached back in her thoughts and tried to find the last moment with the above average hero.  It wasn’t until the Mayor touched her arm and she winced that it all came back to her.

          “A Doctor Flufenstein came and said that he was here to help Sportacus and then he stabbed me with a needle and Sportacus couldn’t help me because he fell down.”  She told them.

          “Well that explains the letter.”  Stingy said handing her a piece of paper he’d picked up off the countertop.  Stephanie took it and read it.  She became grim at the words on the page _.  If you ever want to see your friend or the blue one again come alone to the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town by 9 pm._

          “I don’t like it Stephanie.  The first note was a trap and this is obviously a trap too.  I think we should call Chief Dooright.”  Mayor Meanswell said.

          “It said to go alone.  If I put either one of them in danger, I’ll never be able to live with myself.  Besides he’s been smart enough to evade capture so far, I think he’ll smell the police a mile away.”  She argued.

          “So what do we do?  I want to see Trixie again.”  Stingy told them.  Stephanie could feel his pain but she just wasn’t sure what to do.  Usually she’d turn to Sportacus but he was the one in trouble. 

          “Our only option is for me to go alone to the warehouse.  It’s what Sportacus would do.”  She said.

          “But…” Milford tried to object.

          “But nothing Uncle.  I have to save them.  This guy obviously wants me to go and I’ll go.  I can’t do anything to put Trixie and Sportacus in danger.”  The pink-haired girl put her foot down.

          “I have an idea.”  Pixel interrupted. 

“You won’t have to go alone after all.”  He said.  With that, he laid out the plan he’d concocted in his head.

At eight-fifty pm, Stephanie left her Uncle’s house and headed for the warehouse.  Pixel’s plan had been brilliant and she hoped that it would work.  She pushed the earpiece he’d given her into her ear and asked as she walked,

“Are you guys getting this?”

“Loud and clear, Stephanie.  If you get this all on tape then the police will be able to come and arrest this guy.”  The Gizmo Guy told her.

“I hope you’re right because I’m here.”  The twenty year old told him.  With that the transmission ended and Stephanie poked the button on the earpiece to start the recording. 

“Here goes nothing.”  She muttered to herself as she pushed open the door and entered the old abandoned warehouse.  It had been used for storing the toys made by the old toy factory that had been demolished some years before.  Old toy parts still littered the place and cobwebs covered just about everything.  Suddenly a bright light was flashed into her face and she shielded her eyes with her right hand.

“So good of you to join us.  Your friends aren’t much company.  One is unconscious and the other is behind sound proof glass.”  The distorted voice told her.

          “Let them go.  It’s obvious that you want me.  Here I am so let them go.”  Stephanie told her friend’s captor, surveying the situation in front of her.  Sportacus was in a cage and soundproof glass would make getting Trixie to help almost impossible.  

          “What makes you think that you are the only part of the equation?”  The distorted voice replied.

          “Why else would you go through all this trouble of capturing my friend and my boyfriend?”  She asked, deciding since the cat had been let out of the bag already and there was no point in denying it.

          “Mischief is my middle name.  Besides how could I resist taking on blue footed booby over there?”  The voice from the shadows laughed as he pointed to an unconscious Sportacus.

          “What did you do to him?”  The pink-haired girl wanted to know.

          “Exploited his weakness of course.  Sugar can be a delightful weapon.  Now no more goofing around, it’s time for this party to start.”  Suddenly the light went off and Stephanie was blinded by the darkness.  The next thing she knew was that she had been grabbed from behind.  The person behind her shoved her up close to the container that held Trixie.  A little light came on inside the container to show her friend pounding on the glass.   

          “It seems as though you have a choice.  In about one minute, I’m going to release some noxious gas into this tank and you can watch your friend suffocate to death while you save your Sportacus.  Your other option is to save Trixie while Sportacus slips deeper into his sugar-induced coma.  The tongue depressor’s chemicals have reacted with the overdose of singing liquid and the longer he stays in a coma the better the chances he’ll never come out of it.  Your choice Stephanie; one will live and one will die.  Have fun.”  With that the person let go of her and slipped into the darkness.  Then the twenty year old watched as some sort of smoke began to leak into Trixie’s cage.


	12. Chapter 12

She looked at Sportacus and then back to Trixie.  There was no way to save them both but there was a slight possibility that Sportacus could still come out of his sugar induced state.  Acting fast, she looked around for something to break the glass with.  In the dark it was hard to see and she tried to find anything that would get her friend out of there. 

          Meanwhile, Trixie could feel her airways restricting and she began to cough.  The smoke was replacing the oxygen in the room and she didn’t know how much longer she had left.  She dropped to the floor of her prison in an attempt to keep the aerial poison from seeping into her lungs.

          Stephanie could hear the sounds of sirens as her eyes adjusted to the light being cast from Trixie’s glass cage.  Still she couldn’t find anything to aid her in rescuing her friend.  Then an idea came to her.  Quickly she found the lighting equipment that the stranger had used and turned them on.  There was a way for her to climb onto the top of the box and that would help.  As fast as she could, the pink haired girl climbed up onto some wooden skids and then jumped for the top of the glass prison.  She almost made it but her back foot slipped off and she came crashing down on her stomach on the top of the cage.  The air escaped her lungs and she fought to breathe. 

          Trixie continued to cough as the smoke began to sink to her level.  Her lungs were on fire as they screamed for oxygen and her eyes watered wanting some way to clean the irritant from them.  The prankster could then hear pounding coming from somewhere above her.

          Stephanie jumped up and down on the glass top.  It probably wasn’t the safest thing to do but letting her friend suffocate wasn’t an option.  Again and again she forced her weight upon the same section of soundproof material.  Finally the twenty year old heard what she wanted to; a cracking noise.  One more time she pulled her legs off the surface and let them come down hard.  As they came down the glass gave way and she fell inside the prison.  The smoke began to escape from the hole she’d created but it was still hard to breathe.  Stephanie choked on the stuff and ignored the pain in her legs as she found Trixie.  The girl had lost consciousness and was barely breathing.  That’s when she heard voices calling to them.

          Fifteen minutes later, Stephanie took the oxygen mask the paramedic handed her as he checked out her legs for injuries.  She could feel the worst pain from her right leg, which she’d broken a year ago.  Somewhere in the back of her mind she hoped that she hadn’t broken it again.  Sportacus and Trixie had been rushed to FunTown Hospital in separate ambulances but she didn’t know anything of their conditions.  The paramedic pulled the oxygen mask off of her and said,

          “I think you’ve fractured you’re right leg.  We’ll need X-rays to confirm.”  She didn’t respond to him as her thoughts remained on her friend and her boyfriend.

          “Did you hear me?  I think you broke you’re right leg.”  The paramedic tried to get a response.

          “Fine, just take me to the hospital.  I need to see my friends.”  She told him.  The emergency medical technician just sighed and radioed the base for them to send another ambulance out to his location.

          At the hospital, they X-rayed her leg and found that it was only a slight fracture.  They immediately sent her to have a cast put on despite her objections.  She wanted to know about Trixie and Sportacus but the doctor refused to tell her anything until she had been taken care of.

          Out in the waiting room, Milford, the kids, and Trixie’s mother sat anxiously awaiting any news.  No one spoke and the tension in the room was becoming unbearable.  Finally the door opened and Stephanie hobbled in on her crutches.

          “Oh Stephanie.”  Her uncle rose and came over to her.

          “Uncle Milford.”  She gave him a hug.

          “I was so worried.”  Milford said.

          “What about Sportacus and Trixie?”  The twenty year old asked.

          “We haven’t heard anything yet.”  Trixie’s mother, Sherrie, told her.  Stephanie let out a slightly aggravated sigh.   She was about to head back out the door of the waiting room when a doctor came in.

          “Sherrie?”  He asked.

          “Yes?”  The woman stood up.

          “My name is Doctor Morrissey.  Can we talk in private?”  The doctor wondered.

          “Whatever you have to say you can say in front of everyone here.  We are family.”  Sherrie told him.  Morrissey nodded and spilled the beans.

          “Trixie is resting comfortably right now.  We were able to bring her breathing rate up to normal and we’re going to leave her on the oxygen for a while.  Unfortunately until she regains consciousness we won’t be able to tell if there is any residual brain damage.”  He informed the group.

          “How long will she be out?”  Sherrie asked.

          “Probably a few hours.  When she does awake we’ll need your help testing her speech, memory, and motor skills.”  Morrissey said.

          “Yes of course.”  Trixie’s mother nodded.

          “Can we see her?”  Stingy asked the concern in his voice was evident.  

          “Right now, only one at a time.”  The doctor answered. 

          “Thank you so much.”  Sherrie said.

          “You’re welcome.  If you have any questions, ask the nurses and they’ll come and get me.”  The medical man nodded and exited the room.  Everyone let out a collective sigh.  The news had been both good and bad but Trixie was a strong girl and they all knew that soon they would be falling prey to her practical jokes again.  The door opened again to reveal another doctor.

          “Is there anyone here for Sportacus?”  He asked.

          “Yes.”  The group replied.

          “I need to speak to his next of kin in private.”  The doctor said.

          “He has no next of kin.”  Stephanie spoke up to the shock of everyone in the room.

          “Oh.  I uh…” Obviously the doctor didn’t know what to do now.

          “I am the Mayor of the town he protects.  My niece is his girlfriend.  Will that suffice?”  Milford stepped forward putting his arm around Stephanie.

          “Yes that will do.  I’m Doctor Franz.”  He introduced himself. 

          “How is he?”  Stephanie didn’t beat around the bush. 

          “Ma’am I really feel that it is best if we talk in private.”  Franz told her.

          “Everyone here cares about Sportacus.  You can tell everyone.”  The distraught girl tried to get him to understand.

          “Yes but certain things can’t be discussed in public.”  He told her. 

          “Stephanie its ok.  Talk to the doctor.  We can discuss it when you come back.”  Milford said.  She looked to her friends and they all nodded.  Quietly the doctor and Stephanie headed out into the hall.


	13. Chapter 13

Stephanie stood there trying to absorb everything the doctor had said.  She just didn’t want to believe him.  The words “chance of full recovery” and “not very likely” floated around in her mind making her realize that she may never be able to feel the above average hero’s strong muscular arms surround her.  

          “Did you try giving him sports candy?”  She asked.

          “What?”  The doctor was slightly confused.

          “I’m sorry, fruits and vegetables.”  The pink-haired girl explained.

          “The condition he’s in makes it hard to feed him orally.  We’re doing it intravenously.”  Franz told her.  Stephanie sighed and asked,

          “Can I see him?”

          “Of course.  Do you want a wheelchair so you aren’t on the crutches constantly?”  He wondered.

          “No, I’ll be fine.  Just take me to him.”  She said.  The doctor nodded and he started down the hall.  As quick as she could, Stephanie hobbled after the physician.  They entered the elevator and took it to the fifth floor.  Then after exiting the lift, they made their way to room five thirty-nine. 

          “I’ll return downstairs to let your Uncle know where you are.  The nurses aren’t far away down the hall if you need them.”  Franz told her.

          “Thank you Doctor.”  Stephanie half-smiled and then entered the room.  She found a chair next to the bed and seated herself in it.  Machines beeped all around and tubes seemed to be coming out of everywhere on Sportacus’ body.  It was all very overwhelming and she wasn’t sure what to do. 

          Downstairs, Milford received the news that his niece was with Sportacus.  The doctor didn’t say much else as he turned to do his appointed rounds.  Mayor Meanswell turned to the group gathered in the waiting room and tried to inform them of the little he knew.

          Over in LazyTown, Robbie sat in his big fuzzy orange recliner.  The genius of his plan couldn’t be denied but the surprising guilt trip that had followed made him a little confused.

          “I hate Sportakook.  Why do I now feel awful that I’ve finally gotten rid of him?”  He asked no one in particular.  

          “Must be something I ate.”  He muttered as he turned on the boob tube.

          “Besides, if I know that pink cheerleader she’s already figured out a way to make him better.  No doubt he’ll be flipping around the streets in no time.”  The resident villain made himself feel better with that remark and focused on finding something decent to watch on the television.  Unfortunately every local station seemed to be talking about the same thing.

          “Sportacus was rushed to the hospital today where his condition remains unknown.” One station said.

          “Doctors refuse to speak about the above average hero’s condition.”  Another station informed him.

          “So far the Mayor’s office has promised to alert the public as soon as they know something about Sportacus.”  The last station’s words floated over the airwaves and made it into Robbie’s ears.  The villain shook his head and flipped it to another station showing some sort of comedy program.  Soon his guilt was forgotten as he began laughing at the characters on the screen. 

          At FunTown Hospital, Stephanie placed her hand in Sportacus’ and desperately tried to think of a way to save the man she loved.  There had to be something the doctors hadn’t tried.  That’s when an idea came to her.


	14. Chapter 14

Stephanie immediately hit the call button and the nurse came running in.  The medical woman wore a confused look on her face upon seeing that nothing about the above average hero’s condition had changed.

          “I need to speak to Dr. Franz.  I think I have a way to bring Sportacus out of this.”  The pink-haired girl told her.

          “I’ll call him right away.”  The nurse promised.  She then left the room and headed back to the nurses station.  About ten minutes later, the doctor appeared.

          “Nurse Kelly says you may have a way to help Sportacus.  What is it?”  He wondered.

          “The last time he slipped into a sugar meltdown, apples brought him back but you said that you can’t feed him orally so I figure that his vitamin intake needs to be increased.  It’s the vitamins inside the fruit and vegetables that give him the strength and power to be a hero.”  Stephanie explained.

          “Well we can certainly try it.  At this point, I’m willing to try anything.  I’ll have the nurses prep a solution.”  With that Dr. Franz left the room.

          “Hang in there Sportacus.  I love you.”  Stephanie leaned over and kissed his forehead.  Now all that was left to do was wait to see what the nurses came up with.

          Down in the waiting room, Stingy paced the floor.  He had become more and more worried about Trixie.  Her mother had been visiting the girl for quite some time.  Pixel walked over to his friend and said,

          “I know your nervous but if you don’t stop pacing Ziggy is going to lose his lunch and no one wants to see that.”  This made Stingy chuckle.

          “Now come on.  We’re best buds, I’m sure that Trixie will remember us.”  The Gizmo Guy’s words were comforting but somehow Stingy wasn’t so sure.  Mayor Meanswell smiled at the show of friendship and wished that Stephanie would return soon.  When the door to the waiting room opened, he looked up to see if it was his niece but instead it was Miss Busybody. 

          “Bessie!”  He exclaimed.

          “Oh Milford.  I got here as soon as I secured the press releases and chased those vultures away.  Also I’ve told them that Town Hall would be closed tomorrow due to the current situation.  I have it set up so that Chief Dooright is handling any and all problems that should arise.  His men are continuing to investigate the scene and try to find who did this, however the last time I checked with them they still didn’t have any leads.”  His assistant filled him in.

          “Efficient as always Bessie.  I really appreciate everything you’ve done.”  Milford said.

          “No problem.  Is there any word yet?”  She asked as she took his hand in hers.  The Mayor then proceeded to fill her in with all that he knew.    

          The sound of the television could barely be heard above the snoring of LazyTown’s resident scoundrel.  It had been a long exhausting day of villainy and he was sure that the town’s pathetic excuse for police detectives weren’t going to find anything that tied him to it.  Soon the TV station put on its late night programming, which proceeded to blast some sort of trumpeting noise.  This woke Robbie from his slumber and caused him to fall out of his chair.  He grumbled and rubbed his rear end as he stood up.  Slowly he focused his eyes on the clock, which read one forty five in the morning.  Grumbling some more he shut off his television set and crawled back into his chair.  Grabbing his small blankie, he covered himself up and snuggled into his makeshift bed.  Unfortunately he inhaled a fuzzy and he began to cough.  After a few minutes of coughing and hacking, he gacked the fuzz-ball up and then tried to get back to sleep.  Little did he know that those pathetic excuses for police detectives had found something of interest that would lead them right to him.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning came and it was a sunny day as usual around FunTown and the nearby LazyTown.  A concerned group of individuals woke from their slumber in the waiting room of the hospital still wondering if their friends would be all right.  They wouldn’t have long to wait for an answer as Trixie’s mother, Sherrie, entered the room.

          “How is she?”  Were the first words out of Stingy’s mouth.

          “Well you know Trixie.  She isn’t one for serious conversation.”  Sherrie smiled as the young penny pincher’s face lit up.  Without hesitation he rushed out of the room and down to see his girl. 

          “I take that she is doing well.”  Milford chuckled at Stingy’s response.

          “Very well in fact.  The details of the past few days are foggy but she seems to remember everything else.  Doctor Morrissey says that later today they are going to run the motor skills test since speech and memory don’t seem to be a big problem.  With any luck she’ll be home by tomorrow afternoon.”  The prankster’s mother couldn’t contain her relief and continued to beam.

          “That’s great.  We’re so glad to hear that.”  Bessie gave an encouraging smile and hugged her long time friend.  Pixel and Ziggy came over and gave the hug as well hoping that Stingy would return soon so they could take their turns seeing her.

          Up on the fifth floor, Stephanie was still asleep with her head on Sportacus’ bed.  The nurses had let her stay there despite it being against the rules.  It was then that she felt a tap on the shoulder. 

          Slowly, the twenty year old lifted her head and rubbed her eyes with her hands.  She expected to see a nurse or Doctor Franz there but instead she got a surprise.

          “Sportacus!”  She so much wanted to wrap her arms around him but with her cast it was hard to move without the crutches.

          “Morning beautiful.”  He smiled at her as he cupped her left cheek with his left hand.  They didn’t get a chance to talk as the nurses had heard the shout and came running.  The medical personnel fully expected something bad to be happening until they saw their patient sitting up wide-awake. 

          “Call the doctor.”  Nurse Kelly instructed to one of the others who immediately left the room and headed for the station to page Doctor Franz.

          “Welcome back, sir.”  A smile crossed Kelly’s face. 

          “Thank you.  It feels good to be back.”  He smiled and looked to Stephanie whose eyes were beginning to well up.  She was just glad that he was awake and not singing anymore.

          In LazyTown, Robbie awoke to something not as pleasant.  A loud banging followed by something cold on his nose.  The resident villain opened one eye to find the barrel of a nine-millimeter handgun pressed into his face.

          “Get up!”  The man ordered.  Robbie did the best he could, as the man didn’t move his weapon.  

          “What is going on here?”  The captive asked as he was handcuffed.

          “We found a partial print on the glass that held Trixie.  Guess who it belonged to.”  The arresting detective told him before continuing.

          “Robert Rotten you’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Trixie.”  The patrolman led Robbie away as the detective Mirandized him.

          “I want my public defender!”  Robbie ordered.

          “Yes, that’s a great idea because he was such a help last time.”  The patrolman smirked as he shoved Robbie into the back of a waiting patrol car.      


	16. Chapter 16

Robbie sat in the interrogation room down at LazyTown’s Police Headquarters.  He had invoked his right to counsel and was now waiting for his court appointed attorney to show up.  Detectives Sam Bloom and Skip Wilder stood behind the one-way glass with Chief Dooright discussing their options.

          “It’s only a partial print on the glass.”  The detectives’ boss pointed out.

          “That’s true but there is no explanation as to why his print would have gotten there.  No way he touched it while on duty at the homeless shelter.”  Wilder argued.

          “True but what else do we have?  Now that he’s lawyered up we have no way to reach him.”  Dooright reminded his subordinates.

          “I wouldn’t be too worried, sir.  Now that we have arrested him, his parole has been revoked and we can hold him as long as we need to.”  Bloom said. 

          “Well why don’t you remind him of that when his lawyer arrives and we’ll see if he gives us a plausible rationalization.”  The Chief nodded.  That’s when the door to the room opened and in walked the public defender, Mark Wittmeyer.

          “I trust you haven’t been talking to my client without me.”  He said.

          “Wouldn’t dream of it.”  Bloom smirked.

          “Shall we?”  Wilder opened the door that into the interior of the interrogation room. 

          “So what is this so-called evidence you have on Mr. Rotten?”  Wittmeyer asked.

          “We have his print on the special glass that was holding Trixie captive.  That same box released toxic gas that almost killed her.”  Bloom laid the evidence out for them.

          “And this was enough to arrest my client?”  The lawyer wondered.

          “He has a prior conviction dealing with a violent crime and is currently out on parole for said crime.  In both cases Sportacus was involved and since your client is known for having a strong dislike for the hero we’re also looking into charging him with attempted murder for Sportacus and for Trixie.”  Wilder explained.

          “Can I have a word with my client in private?”  The lawyer lobbed another question and the detectives stood up to leave.

          “Just remember should Sportacus or Trixie die, we’re upping the charges to murder.”  Bloom told Robbie as they left the room.  Once outside the room, Dooright looked at his detectives.

          “Why did you tell him that?  We all know that Sportacus and Trixie are going to pull through.”  The Police Chief raised an eyebrow.

          “Yeah but he doesn’t know that.”  Wilder said, backing up his partner.   This made the three men chuckle as they waited to hear from their suspect.

          Back at the hospital in FunTown, Sportacus was speaking with Doctor Franz who was completely confounded by the hero’s recovery.

          “I just don’t understand how Stephanie’s suggestion worked but it did.  I guess all that is important is that you appear to be back to your usual self.”  The medical man said.

          “Well I’m just glad you allowed Stephanie to help you.  Not many doctors would want to admit that.”  The above average hero smiled.

          “Trust me when it comes to the safety of my patients, I do whatever it takes to save them.  Anyway the good news is you can go home in the morning.”  Franz smiled back and shook Sportacus’ hand.

          “That’s great, thank you so much.”  LazyTown’s resident hero nodded.

          “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to tend too.”  Doctor Franz excused himself and left Stephanie and Sportacus alone.

          “I’m so glad you’re ok, I was so scared.  The doctor talked to me about Do-Not-Resuscitate orders and organ donation, I just didn’t want to believe I was going to lose you.”  The pink haired girl told him.         

          “I know it must have been awful.  I’m sure Doctor Franz just wanted to be sure that he’d covered all his bases since he medically couldn’t find a reason for my condition.”  Sportacus explained.  Stephanie got up out of her seat and pulled herself up onto his bed.  She sat as close as she could to him and placed her hand in his.  Neither one said much as they were just glad that they hadn’t lost each other.

          Down a few floors, Stingy sat next to Trixie’s bed in a chair that had been provided.  He hadn’t spoke since saying ‘hi’ to his girlfriend.  An awkward silence settled between them, as it seemed neither one knew what to say which was certainly odd for Trixie.

          “Well are you awake or are we at an art gallery?”  The silence was broken with the girl’s bad joke.

          “You almost left me.”  Stingy’s words were barely audible.

          “If I left you, who would help everyone keep their stuff away from you?”  Trixie responded.

          “Hey!”  He said looking hurt.

          “Well it’s true.”  The girl teased.  Stingy reached over and took her hand in his. 

          “You’re miiiiiiiinnnnne.”  He smirked.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning the hospital released Sportacus and the group in the waiting room was ecstatic to see the above average hero up and walking around.  Sherrie informed everyone that Trixie would be released a little later that day and everyone was glad to hear it.  After the good news was spread around, Mayor Meanswell pulled his niece’s boyfriend aside.

          “Chief Dooright said he needs to talk to you and Stephanie when we get back to town.”  He said.

          “What does he need?”  Sportacus asked.

          “He said they have a suspect in custody but the case isn’t very strong.  If you or Stephanie or Trixie can make an identification then perhaps they can actually charge him.”  Milford explained.

          “They have Robbie don’t they?”  It wasn’t hard for the above average hero to guess considering the resident villain was the only one that he knew of that could be capable of something like that.

          “Yes but if you saw him do it at the bare minimum his parole will be revoked.”  Meanswell told him.

          “I see well when we get into town, Stephanie and I will go to the precinct.  Thank you Mayor.”  The blue sports elf smiled and nodded.

          About twenty minutes later everyone left the hospital except for Sherrie and Stingy, who were going to help Trixie.  The ride back to LazyTown was spent discussing the events of the past few days and how glad everyone was that things were getting back to normal.  Dropping everyone off at their respective houses and airships, the Mayor headed home with Stephanie who had quieted down.

          “How are you feeling?”  Her Uncle asked.

          “Ok, but I didn’t want to spend graduation in a cast.”  His niece replied.

          “I’m sorry about that Steph, I know I wouldn’t want to either but you know you can use your crutches so everyone can see that you’re not going to let what happened stop you.  You’re stronger than you think, you know.” Milford told her.  This made her smile.

          “Thanks Uncle.”  Stephanie said.  They arrived at the house and Mayor Meanswell helped the pink-haired girl into the house.

          A little later Sportacus stopped over and helped Stephanie outside.  The sun shone and it was hard to believe that things had been dismal before.  Much to her protest the above average hero picked up her and put her on his shoulders.  Then he carried her to the police precinct so they could talk to Chief Dooright.

          Robbie had spent the night in lock up after refusing to tell the police officers anything.  It wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before but his mind continued to wonder if he’d gone too far.  His lawyer, Mark Wittmeyer, had told him that a fingerprint wasn’t enough to charge with anything unless the police could somehow find someone who saw him commit the crime.  The resident villain hadn’t told his lawyer what really happened, hoping some how he’d manage to scrape by.

          “Come on Rotten.  The detectives want to see you.”  The officer guarding him said.  Robbie lifted his keister off the bench he sat on and did as the guard said.

          Upstairs in the interrogation room, Chief Dooright watched as detectives Bloom and Wilder once again tried to break the suspect.  They weren’t having much luck and the head of the Police department feared that Robbie might get away with it.

          “Are you sure you didn’t see him?”  He asked the two that stood next to him.

          “I’m sorry Chief but I didn’t.”  Sportacus told him.

          “Me either.”  Stephanie confirmed.

          “Well then we have no choice to let him go.  If I can I’ll try to have his parole officer tighten Robbie’s leash.”  Dooright let them know.

          “We appreciate it.”  The above average hero shook the Chief’s hand.

          “You’re welcome.  We’ll keep in touch.”  Bradley said.  Then the two left the station and headed back to the Mayor’s house.  This time Sportacus picked up Stephanie and held her in his arms.

          “Home James.”  She teased and kissed his cheek.

          “Yes ma’am.”  As fast as he could he raced back to Milford’s house.  When they got there the Mayor was waving a piece of mail.

          “It’s a letter from FunTown University!”  He exclaimed.


	18. Chapter 18

Sportacus quickly brought Stephanie inside and put her down on a kitchen stool.  Milford handed her the letter and she quickly opened it.  The look on her face however went from happy to sad.   

          “What is it?”  Both men asked sensing that an answer they wouldn’t like was about to follow.

          “The university they…” Stephanie paused and swallowed hard.  Sportacus reached a supporting arm over and placed his hand on her shoulder.  That’s when she delivered the bomb.

          “They accepted me!”  A smile crossed her face as the good news sank in for her uncle and the above average hero. 

          “Why you little…” Milford teased as she hugged his niece tightly.

          “Congratulations sweetie.”  Sportacus kissed her cheek. 

          “You know what this means don’t you?”  The twenty year old asked.  She received a knowing smile from the man in blue next to her.

          “I can commute and stay here in LazyTown!”  Stephanie exclaimed.  Milford smiled and said,

          “Then I know what to do with your letter.”  He took it over to the refrigerator and placed the acceptance letter under the big “A+” magnet that was there.  Every piece of good news that they ever got went under that magnet and this piece was no exception.

          Later, as they headed over to Trixie’s house, Robbie watched from his inner sanctum through his periscope.  He scowled at their happiness and damned his stupidity.

          “Nothing I’ve tried has gotten rid of these over active wastes of space.  What am I doing wrong?”  His thoughts wandered back to the very beginning when those two had shown up and started making his life miserable.  He went over everything trying to find some way to make his failed plans work.  Unfortunately nothing came to mind and that’s when he heard someone banging on the lid to his home.

          “Who is that?!”  The resident villain asked, angry at the fact of being disturbed.  He went to the tunnel and used his monitor screen to see who was there. 

          “Crap, it’s Mrs. Margaret Mazzi.”  He muttered and let her in.

          “I say Mr. Rotten you must figure out a different way of getting in here.”  The woman said as she dusted her pants off after landing on the floor.

          “What can I do for you?”  Robbie gritted his teeth.

          “I’m here based on your latest run in with the law.  As your parole officer, I’ve been instructed to keep you on a tighter leash so to speak.”  Mazzi told him.

          “Just because I’m on parole doesn’t mean I’m still in prison.”  He reminded her.

          “Nevertheless you seem to despise your freedom and I want to make sure that if you want to go back to jail, that I put you there.”  She told him.  That’s when she handed him a little cup.

          “Three times weekly drug tests, you’ll meet me three times a week instead of the usual one, and the slightest infraction like littering will have you back on the chain gang before you can say Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.”  Robbie gave her a look after her last statement and then took the cup from her hand.  He grumbled as he headed for the bathroom to take care of his business.  

          “One of these days I’m going to fill this thing with apple juice.”  The villain smirked.         

**The End**


End file.
